HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 11, 2023) – Graduate student Kevin Crowley scored four goals and had two assists as the Stevens Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team upset No. 12 Wesleyan University 15-7 Saturday afternoon in a non-conference contest at the DeBaun Athletic Complex. 

The win was the 300th for head coach Gene Peluso. He ranks 13th in career victories among all active NCAA men's lacrosse coaches.

"I am proud of the job that our guys did today to secure the win," head coach Gene Peluso said. "As much as I know that it's a milestone win, it was just about winning today's game for me. I think our guys cared about the number 300 more than I necessarily did, but it's all about them and the guys that played before them."

Juniors Jack Savarese and Keegan Hughes each finished with five points as the Ducks scored unanswered goals to break the game open in winning their fifth straight game to improve to 6-1. It was the first victory over a ranked team during the regular season for the men's lacrosse program since March 21, 2019, when they defeated then-No. 14 Christopher Newport 14-9 in Newport News, Va.

D.J. Dixon led the way for the Cardinals, recording two goals and an assist. Wesleyan also got two points each from Matt Gill and Pat Doherty, in suffering its first loss of the season in falling to 2-1.

First-year Matthew Pergola finished with a hat trick and added an assist for the Ducks, while classmate Joe Leone scored once and added two assists. Senior Joseph Cawley, senior Jake Wright, and graduate student Carter Haskel each had one assist to round out the offensive contributions for Stevens.

"I thought we got a great game from our starting attack of Crowley, Savarese and Pergola and multi-point games from Keegan Hughes and Joe Leone!" Peluso said.

Graduate student Ryan Leahy made a season-high 18 saves to earn his sixth victory this season. Colin Hanley made eight saves in a losing effort to lead the Cardinals.

"The defense of Joe Cawley, Luke Lesizza, Bryan Creamer, and obviously Ryan Leahy in goal, was impressive and did such a great job against a very strong Wesleyan offense!" Peluso offered

The two teams traded blows back and forth throughout the first frame. Crowley scored his 13th of the season less than two minutes into the game, with Cawley earning the assist after stripping Wesleyan's Doug Rabin. D.J. Dixon responded for the Cardinals at the 7:57 mark to tie things at one. Junior Conner Park won the ensuing faceoff, which led to Crowley scoring his second of the game 17 seconds later to put the Ducks back in front. Wesleyan would again answer with just under five minutes left in the quarter to know the score up again, but Savarese's first of the day gave Stevens a 3-2 lead heading into the second quarter.

Stevens scored seven straight goals in the second quarter as their lead ballooned to eight. Savarese kicked things off with his 20th of the season less than a minute into the period. The Ducks then scored three times in 63 seconds with Crowley and Savarese each completing their respective hat tricks, sandwiching a Pergola marker between them Crowley's goal came on the man-advantage. Pergola would score the next two Stevens goals, both coming on assists from Hughes. Stevens scored their tenth goal with 1:54 remaining in the period as Crowley found the back of the net for the fourth time with Wright providing the assist.

Stevens came out of the halftime break still hot, as Leone scored his fifth of the season with 12:25 left in the third to give the Ducks their biggest lead of the game at nine. The Cardinals put a stop to the run with three goals in 90 seconds to trim the deficit to six. However, Savarese got the Ducks back on the board with a power-play goal with 8:54 to go. Wesleyan scored with under a minute left in the third, but the Ducks held a 12-6 lead going into the fourth.

It was Hughes who scored his first goal of the afternoon with a player advantage to get things started in the fourth. He was assisted by Crowley as the Ducks regained a seven-point lead. Kevin Talbot answered six seconds later after taking the faceoff the distance as the Cardinals quickly cut the deficit back to six. That would be the last goal for Wesleyan, as Savarese and Hughes each added another goal in the fourth as the Ducks closed out their upset victory.

The Ducks' run of nine straight goals, spanning from the first quarter to the third quarter, was their second longest run of the season, only trailing their a 15-goal run they had in their opener against Drew University.

"Today was a team effort from our sidelines to our players on the field; the entire group earned today's win and I am glad to be a small part of it," Peluso shared. "All of our focus is now on Eastern University. They're always so well coached and a strong and talented group."

Both teams found success on clear attempts as the Ducks went 27 of 31 while Wesleyan was 19 of 24.

The Ducks caused ten of Wesleyan's 19 turnovers. First-year Luke Lesizza anchored the defense, registering four caused turnovers, while Cawley and senior Joseph DeGuida each tallied two. Wesleyan caused 11 of the 17 Duck turnovers, with Nolan Collins registering four. 

Sophomore Andrew Muller had eight faceoff wins to lead Stevens, while Park had two. Justin Hazard and John Maranto combined to win 15 faceoffs for the Cardinals.

The Ducks went 3 for 5 on the man advantage, as Crowley, Savarese and Hughes each had power-play goals. Wesleyan was scoreless in four extra-man opportunities. 

Up Next: Men's Lacrosse hits the road to take on Eastern University on Wednesday, March 15. The game is slated for 3:30 p.m. The Ducks were victorious in the lone previous matchup between the teams, winning 20-14 back in 2021. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.

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